Cyclone dies out, danger remains

A cyclist tests his mettle after a heavy rain on Rarotonga over the weekend. Wet weather is expected again this week. 19021032

Cook Islands may have avoided the brunt of ex tropical cyclone Neil, but the danger of another forming is still lurking.

Cook Islands Meteorological Service director Arona Ngari said they were monitoring another system which has formed within the vicinity of TC Neil which died down over the weekend.

TC Neil which formed on Friday night was located between Samoa and Fiji and was slowly moving in the south east direction towards the Cook Islands before it fizzled out.

“Neil had gale force winds when formed and instead of moving in a south west direction, it headed south and died down,” Ngari said.

“But we are keeping a close look at another system (TD08F) in the same vicinity as Neil. We are looking at its movement and will keep people updated on the progress.”

Ngari reiterated that February to April were normally regarded the active months for cyclones in the region, including the Cook Islands.

Cook Islands is expected to face two to three named cyclones in this cyclone season which began in November.

In a statement released in October, the New Zealand’s National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) said the southern Cook Islands may experience two to three named cyclones, which is higher than average for the islands. For the northern Cook Islands, zero to one cyclones have been projected.

The forecasters have indicated that another seven to 11 named tropical cyclones could occur in the Southwest Pacific basin this coming cyclone season following the very early TC Liua that formed in September last year.

Meanwhile, Ngari said Rarotonga would experience some rain this week because of the rain cloud hovering over the island.